Following my talk with the adjuster this morning, I test drove a couple Saturn ION 3 Quad Coupes today. Actually, one was an ION 3 with an automatic transmission which, except for that and black leather interior, matched my feature wish-list to a T. The other was an ION 2 with the sports package they started offering. It had a manual transmission, but was lacking quite a few of the other features I wanted.

I’m not a fan of automatic transmissions, so I drove both, thinking the manual tranny would be enough to allow me to live without the rest of the missing features. Not so. It just didn’t feel right… there was no tension/friction point when I pushed in the clutch. Without that feedback, it felt awkward, and I just wasn’t sure exactly where the clutch met the accelerator. That being the case, I’m going with the automatic (sorry Dad).

As for the black leather interior, I’d rather have tan, but I can live with black. I’ll just deep tint the windows to eliminate/minimize the issue of interior heat during the summer.

If all goes well, I should have the settlement check next week, and ought to be able to pawn off the dead car to a salvage yard somewhere, both giving me a hefty down payment on the ION. I may just have it this time next week… a full month from the day of the accident. Maybe that’s being too optimistic…

I just wish the new trunk mounted bike rack I bought two months ago would fit. Anyone want a Yakima MoJoe rack? It’s been used… maybe 5 times.